A Demon's Fate
by Aster's Descendants
Summary: What was supposed to be a regular cruise turned into a fantasy nerds wet dream turned nightmare. If that wasn't enough, apparently my Magic cards work like the fucking Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and summon the actual creatures. Now I'm trying to find a way home while avoiding being jumped by the inhabitants of this place. I doubt my virginity will make the journey.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Magic? Only in Cards!**

" _I don't know how long I've been here, but I do know that this place is, in a weird way, hostile. If you are reading this, it means my message got to civilization safely. What I'm about to tell you is the truth, as much as I wish that I could have made it up. This island is full of things you wouldn't believe, and the inhabitants...well, I don't know what to say about them. It all started on a cruise ship to Hawaii from the mainland…"_

Darkness…

That's all there is. Nothing is around to light it up.

I can't see.

I can't hear.

Just...nothing.

…

…

"Boy…"

 _...What?_

"...Boy…"

... _Who's there?_

A glow shows a female figure, feathered wings spread completely, standing in front of me. She wore a hooded coat that seemed to connect to different snake-like tassels toward her waist.

"You need to save them," she spoke quietly.

 _Save who?_

"Beware the creatures of the island."

 _What do you mean?_

"You aren't defenseless. You have all you need with you."

 _What are you talking about?! Who are you?!_

"...It's time for you to wake up."

* * *

 _Ow...my head. Who hit me? And for that matter...where am I?_ These were just some of the questions floating in his head as he slowly regained consciousness. As he opened his eyes, he immediately closed them as a bright light practically stabbed through his eyelids. He tried opening them again, though slower to let his eyes adjust. The first sight to greet him was a sandy expanse leading to a forest in front of him and to an ocean behind him.

 _Memory check: my name is Cameron, I live in the outskirts of Seattle, I'm 17, and I'm a big sucker for video games and anime. Yep I remember everything._ He looked down to check his body for injuries. His green t-shirt with a 1-up mushroom had no signs of damage, nor did his stomach or chest. His dark blue jeans showed some wear-and-tear damage along the knees, but were still wearable. The white Skechers he wore were covered in dirt, but otherwise alright.

After blowing the sand off his glasses, he slowly stood up, bracing himself for the slight head-rush that lasted about 10 seconds.

 _So what do I remember happening? I was on a cruise with my sister, my parents, and my cousins, the ship was passing by some islands when...some kind of alarm went off...then I got nothing..._

Try as he might, Cameron couldn't remember what happened after the alarm went off. He eventually decided to put it at the back of his mind and came up with some form of a plan.

 _Ok, main priority, find my family, find anyone else from the ship then find a way off the island. Okay, now what all do I have with me?_ He felt around in his pockets. _I have my phone (which surprisingly still works but has no service right now…), my wallet, my MP3 player (also in working condition somehow)._

He looked around the beach and saw a camouflage colored backpack not five feet away from him. Crawling up to it, he unzipped the largest pocket, finding three boxes with varying designs on them that looked related. _Wait a sec, how are my Magic cards here?_ His arm reached in and pulled out a purple deckbox with a goblin creature on it. Inside were two custom-made decks of 60 Magic Cards that he collected over the years. Another box was a slightly bigger, yellow, leather bound box of 100 cards from varying sets. The third was a longer purple themed box that depicted a woman in a purple gown, eyes and body glowing with power. _Well then...I don't know why that's still here, but if I find anybody else here, I might be able to keep myself occupied by teaching them how to play...but that's only if I find anybody._

The feeling of metal against his skin prompted him to reach under his shirt and pull out the necklace he wore. A silver medallion depicting a male figure with wings and a spear stabbing down at a snake-like monster stared back. Inscribed around the picture was sentence calling the angelic figure by name, "Saint Michael, Pray For Us". Next to that medallion was another, this one depicting a woman in robes and a veil with a shine behind her head. It said nothing, but being a Catholic, he knew this one was the Virgin Mary.

After taking one more look around the beach, he decided that the only way to go was into the forest. _My best guess is that whatever happened to the ship wasn't natural. Therefore, the best option is that someone made the ship crash and I might be the only survivor. But was it an inside job? Or was somebody hacking the ship's system to make it crash into a reef or some rocks? And better yet, why kill so many people and leave any survivors stranded on an island?_

And so he tucked his necklace back into his shirt and walked. _I have a really bad feeling about this._

* * *

"Is that all of them?" A harsh, female voice yelled as her servants dragged their findings into a pile of various knick-knacks and clothing. One of the servants looked at the small bundle of survivors they had taken as prisoners from the wreck.

"Yes, my lady," a sharp-toothed humanoid creature with rotting skin answered. "These were the survivors from the wreckage. Once again, your power has drawn in quite a crowd."

The female voice was attached to a figure shrouded in shadows, the only details standing out being her blood red eyes and a black and red armored hand that held a glass of a red liquid, though whether it was blood or wine was anyone's guess. She smirked, showing off her own sharp, white teeth. "And I can already see many that I will enjoy. Count all of the men and separate them from the women." The servant nodded before roughly pushing the women away from the men. After counting them, the servant came back with his report.

"We have 30 men and and 28 women, not counting any of the little ones. There are a total of 13 little males and females."

"Leave them to fend for themselves on the island," she replied simply before chuckling. "I'm sure there are many others that would love some human children." The children in question, most of them ranging from 7-13 years old with a couple of 14 year olds and five year olds here and there, were all hugging each other in fear. One of the other servants ushered the children into another corner of the small cave-like prison before stopping over one girl.

The 12 year old had her brown hair in a braid that went down to her waist, messed up slightly from the crash. Her green eyes were wide with fear as the ghoulish servant sniffed her pink and white striped shirt before glaring. He shook his head and walked back to his master, making the girl sigh in relief. _Big bro,_ she thought desperately, _wherever you are, I hope you're safe and find us._ She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard the female voice bark out orders again.

"Now then," she began, glaring impassively at a group of zombies. "I want you five to go back to the wreckage to see if there are any bodies left. Whatever is found on the bodies is up for grabs." She directed that same look to another group, only this was a group of ghosts, "Take the children and spread them around the island. I don't care where you drop them, just as long as they're out of here." One of her ghouls approached her before she could finish giving her orders. "What do you want?"

"I think we're missing one," the ghoulish servant rasped.

The red-eyed glare intensified. "Do you want to repeat that? I don't think I heard you right."

"There may be one more from the wreckage that we missed during our raid on-"

The sound of glass breaking echoed through the cave. "WHAT?!"

The ghoul ducked his head in terror. "Forgive me, my lady!" he begged fearfully. "We didn't notice it until one of the others sniffed this girl. If this one has the scent of another on her, then the one we missed is still alive. They must have been separated from the rest of the survivors. Or they may have washed up somewhere else on the island."

The female figure relaxed slightly before giving her response. "In that case," she began calmly, "I can be merciful this time."

The servant bowed gratefully. "Oh thank you, my lad-GAK!" His gratitude was interrupted by the black armored hand grabbing him by the throat and lifting him into the air.

"You know I don't tolerate failure. My mercy goes as far as making your death quick and painless." She tightened her grip, completely snapping his neck. The figure turned to one more monster. "If one gets away, then they _all_ have a chance of escaping the island, which is what we want to avoid! Am I clear?"

The other monster nodded before smirking. "I'll find him the best way I know how," it replied almost viciously. With that, it stalked off to begin its hunt.

The female figure turned to the rest of her prisoners, more specifically, the men. "Now then, who shall be my first of the day?" she asked with lustful smirk.

* * *

Cameron didn't know how long he'd been walking. All he knew was that his feet hurt and he was hungry. He stopped at a nearby fallen log to sit down and rest his feet for a few minutes before looking for a town of some sort on the island. He sighed in relief as the weight went off of his feet. _I wonder if any of my cards are still in good condition._ Reaching into his pocket, he took out the purple deckbox and opened it, taking out the deck that was behind the separator first.

The face of a man in a blue hood with blue markings on his face greeted him. The man was holding a book in one arm while in the other hand was a blue ball of light, giving the card a somewhat eerie appearance. This card was known as Jace, Unraveler of Secrets. Behind that card was another like it in appearance, but white and depicting another man. This man had long brown hair going down to his back and long sideburns the nearly met at his chin. He wore a silver torso armor plate and gold gauntlets on his arms, the one on his left arm extended into a thick, bladelike shield. The scarf he wore around his neck was barely visible underneath his armor, and his face spoke grim determination to take down all enemies. This card was Gideon, Ally of Zendikar.

Cameron smiled at the cards for a minute before looking through the rest of his deck. The cards in it consisted of counter spells, enchantments, and a few creatures, the foremost being the most abundant. This is what one could expect in a control deck. They looked to be in the same condition as when he got on the cruise, which surprised him, since he was expecting some kind of water damage. This only raised more questions as to how things happened when the crash happened.

He shook his head and placed the Blue/White deck back in the box before pulling out another deck, this one in black sleeves. At the top of the deck was another card in a similar style to Jace and Gideon. This card was gold bordered with red on the left side of the border and green on the right. The picture depicted a woman with her brown hair tied into a low ponytail hanging over her shoulder. She wore some kind of leather armored fur dress that hung mostly in the back and had one sleeve going down her left arm. Her right forearm and both of her calves had straps wrapped around them and her nails were extremely sharp. On her face, her smirk was one that promised pain; a lot of pain. This card was Arlinn Kord, from one of the more recent sets. Behind her card was an aggressive deck built around land entering the battlefield to give creatures a boost. The Red/Green deck had been one of his favorites and he loved every card he put into it.

After making sure no water had gotten into the sleeves, he put the deck back in the box. Though he could've sworn he saw his three Planeswalkers wink at him as he did. As he put the box in his pocket, his thoughts drifted.

 _Who was that I heard in my dream? I know I've seen her somewhere before, but where? And for that matter, what did she mean when she said I had all I needed to defend myself here?_

With these thoughts, he drifted off to sleep.

He was woken up when the tail end of a noise reached his ears. The sun was just setting and twilight was setting in, giving the forest an almost eery, yet calming atmosphere. Looking around, he was about to shrug it off before he heard it again, only this time, it was a little louder. It sounded like a panicked...moan?

 _What is that? Is that someone in trouble...or is someone going at it?_ He listened for it again and began to follow it, against his better judgement. If there was one thing that was true, it was that his curiosity was currently outweighing his fear of the unknown. Though in this case, it wasn't a good idea. The sounds got louder as he continued to walk, while his mind tried to figure out what the sounds could be. A sweet smell entered his nose and his mind began to get hazy. He didn't know what it was, but it smelled like honey and it made him smile.

He got his answer when he saw what looked to be a girl in a bee costume making out with another girl, this one standing in a flower covered in green foliage from her hair to her skin. But they weren't just kissing, no, they were groping each other as if one touch would make them forget the other, and centering most of their touches on three spots in particular. If your mind was in the gutter, you were correct.

 _Holy crap, what am I even seeing?!_ He was rooted in place in shock. Never had he seen this level of...affection...between two people before (and hearing it was bad enough when it came to how often his friends did it).

Vibration in his pocket caught his attention as he fished out his phone, raising an eyebrow at the page pulled up. It looked to be some form of pokedex on the beings in front of him, complete with pictures and descriptions.

Alraune: A plant type monster with the form of a beautiful woman covered in enormous flower petals that inhabits forests. Normally, they don't move around very much. They're always releasing sweet fragrances that attract human men, and they wait for their prey. This fragrance is released from their bodily fluids, and the fluid is called "Alraune Nectar". It acts as a powerful aphrodisiac and stamina enhancer.

Honey Bee: Bug type monsters that make an enormous hive centered around a queen bee. The honey bees whose role it is to gather nectar from flowers and Alraune are called worker bees. Other than looking for food, if the queen bee doesn't have a husband, they also have a duty to look for a human man to become the queen's husband. When they spot a valuable man, they fly at him and have sex with him to check whether or not he'd be a suitable husband for the queen.

Cameron looked between the two girls in front of him and his phone's monster pokedex. _I think I've seen these somewhere before...at the very least, the artwork looks familiar._ Eventually, the shock wore off, and he slowly started backing away from the two girls, intending to leave like he was never there.

 _ **SNAP!**_

The resulting sound of Cameron stepping on a twig made the girls stop their make out session, and look in his direction. The only thing that went through his mind was the one thing he said out loud.

"Okay, so...I'm gonna back away slowly and come back when there's less weird shit."

"Oh this really is my day," the bee girl giggled. "Not only do I get some much needed Alraune nectar, but also a new mate for the queen."

Cameron raised an eyebrow. "Uh, are you alright there?" _I really don't want to be abducted by crazy monsters._

"Oh I'll feel much better once I've brought you to the hive."

 _Oh triple shit, time to RUN!_ Taking his own advice, he turned around and sped off, hoping to get as far away as he could from the hormone driven women. Not two minutes later, he heard a buzzing noise behind him. The kind of buzzing you usually hear from a big bug with wings. Risking a glance behind him, Cameron immediately turned his head back and began running faster. The bee girl was _flying,_ not running, after him! He didn't know how she was doing it, as those wings really shouldn't have been able to support her weight, but she was flying. And gaining ground quickly.

He suddenly felt the urge to make a sharp turn to the right and did so, just barely avoiding the nectar covered hands of the bee girl.

"Oooh, this'll be so much _fun!_ I can't wait to test you out for the queen!"

 _Not good, not good, NOT GOOD!_ He continued to run as the bee girl began to gain ground again. The trees became larger and thicker the further he went, but with each turn, he was half a second away from being grabbed by the bee girl.

 _ **THUD!**_

An impact on something furry sent Cameron back to the ground, spilling a few of his cards out of his backpack. As he shook his head to regain his bearings, he noticed the buzzing that was following him had stopped and was replaced by what sounded like a deep, female growling noise.

"Who just slammed into me?" the wall-like woman asked tiredly. She wore what looked like a brown, sleeveless, furry leotard with a small puff at the...posterior. On her limbs were gloves/shoes that looked like bear paws, one of which was covered in honey. To top it off, she had a pair of bear ears on her head.

Cameron's phone vibrated again, causing him to fish it out once again.

Grizzly: A type of beastman with the characteristics of a bear. They are normally dopey, but when it comes to attacking human men, they are dangerous monsters that exhibit freakish strength. Their favorite food is Alraune Nectar, especially the sweet honey it becomes after being processed by Honey Bees. They frequently attack Alraune and Honey Bees to lick this honey, all while getting their faces and paws covered in the sticky honey.

Once she saw the teen boy, she smiled dopily and brought the honey covered paw to her mouth. "I didn't think there'd be a man here, much less a human one."

 _What is with the girls in animal costumes?_ "Sorry for bumping into you," Cameron apologized quickly before standing back up. "But I'm on the run from a crazy bee girl trying to jump my bones!" He was about to start running again when a sharp tug on his shirt sent him back to the ground. Looking at the bear girl's face sent more shivers down his spine. The smile was more ferocious and lustful.

"Oh it's not the Honeybee you need to worry about, little boy…" the bear girl giggled pinning him to the ground with her clean paw. It was here that he realized that they weren't just costumes. The strength used to pin him down was practically otherworldly, and the claws were poking through his shirt, nearly breaking the skin. She raised her honey covered paw like she was about to hit him. He curled up and waited for the hit.

And waited.

And waited.

 _Why haven't I been hit yet?_ He was about to open his eyes when a loud roar broke through the air. Immediately, the weight pinning him down was off of him as the sound of something growling was heard in front of him. The girls both backed up in fear, if their gasping was anything to go by. He slowly opened his eyes, only to gape in shock at what was in front of him.

The only thing that even closely resembled a normal animal that he's seen stood, ready to pounce. The large animal was a leopard with two large fangs similar to a sabre-toothed tiger, large, curved blades on its front legs, extremely sharp claws, and two yellow, angry eyes that bored into the bear-girl.

 _Wait, huh?_ Cameron thought. _I know what I'm seeing, and I don't want to believe it, but since the girls both backed off, I can definitely say that I'm looking at a Scythe Leopard. But where did it come from?_ Something on the ground caught his attention. One of his spilled cards showed the stats of the creature in front of him, but the picture that had it was missing the actual creature. He connected the dots quickly, coming up with an idea.

 _Well, I have nothing else to lose, so I guess it's time to duel._ Cameron quickly picked up his cards, then took out the rest of his Red/Green deck, placing it in front of him and to his right. He drew seven cards and shifted to a sitting position, looking to his opponent. "Your move, Care-Bear."

* * *

Red eyes looked up from their victim in shock. Something was using magic, and it wasn't a monster. She didn't know what was tapping into the mana of the island, but she had a feeling that it wasn't good for her.

"Send for my assistant," she ordered one of her new minions. "Someone's dabbling in arts they know nothing of."

"Of course, my lady," the new incubus bowed and left.

 _Whoever you are,_ she thought maliciously, _I hope you put up a decent fight if you can use Magic. That will make my victory all the more sweeter._

* * *

The bear girl stuttered in confusion. "How? How do you have a summons contract? How can you use it?"

"Shut up and duel! Unless you're just a scrub!" That got her attention.

She growled and ran forward. Immediately, the Scythe Leopard leapt to defend him. It tackled the bear girl to the ground, then disappeared in a glass shattering effect. _Damn, that must mean that he's blocked and went to the graveyard._ He looked at the card again, and the cat was back in the picture. He placed the card behind the deck face up and began his turn.

"I place a forest down, then tap two to play Snapping Gnarlid!" Cameron placed the card down, and in a flash of light, the beast took its place in front of me. It looked like a horned mixture of a bear cub and a badger. But it looked no less dangerous. "I'll end my turn here."

The bear girl growled again. "Honey bee, help me."

The bee girl looked at the bear girl and back at the animal in front of them. _I probably shouldn't. This is more suited for one of those hornets. At the same time though..._ She figured that she might as well, if the young man was putting up this much of a fight. _Then when it's over, I'll bring him back to the hive. The queen will be so pleased with me!_ She nodded and took a position next to the grizzly. If they attacked together, then they could try to do more damage to knock him out.

The nodded and attacked together, making the Gnarlid tense in anticipation.

"I'll soak the damage," Cameron said. The two monsters landed their blows, causing a life meter to appear over Cameron's head. It counted down from 20 until it stopped at 16. _Okay, if I had to make an estimate,_ Cameron strategized, _Bee-chick is probably a 1/1 or a 1/2, while Care Bear is more likely a 3/5 at the most. Either way, I need more creatures to block them should they attack together again._

He looked at his hand, then drew a card, bringing his hand back up to seven cards. "I'll place a Mountain," a small, glowing pile of rocks jutted from the ground next to him as he did this, "then I'll play Valakut Predator." In a flash of red light, a four-legged beast of molten rocks and fire appeared next to the Gnarlid. "And because I played a land card this turn, my Gnarlid is a bit stronger until the end of my turn. Speaking of, Snapping Gnarlid, attack the Care Bear now!" The beefed up beast snarled and leapt, slashing at the bear-girl across the stomach. The Grizzly flinched, then lashed out with a few slashes of her own, making the beast disappear in a glass shattering effect.

Any wound the Grizzly might have sustained disappeared when the Gnarlid shattered. However, she still brought a hand to her stomach as it still ached.

Cameron noticed this and glanced at his hand, seeing one card that could immediately end the fight. The problem was, if he played it, he couldn't ensure they'd survive. As much as he didn't like the girls for trying to rape him, he wasn't trying to kill them.

"I'll ask you only once," he pleaded seriously. "Leave now, and I won't hurt you anymore. If you continue to attack me, you will not like the end result."

The two looked torn. They knew he wasn't kidding when he said they wouldn't like the results. He'd proven himself capable of defending himself from two monsters with summons. But at the same time, they knew if he was strong now, his offspring would be enhanced by the monsters' magic. The thought sent shivers down their spines. But was it really worth it for them?

"Fine," the Honey Bee sighed, dropping to the ground. "I give up. I won't take you to the queen."

The Grizzly looked in shock at the bee girl's actions before thinking it through some more. The more she did, the more certain she was in the fact that it wasn't worth the risk. "You're strong, boy. I don't know how you got this strong, but I know I can't win. I'm done."

In a flash of light, the Valakut Predator was gone, and Cameron sighed, picking up his cards. "If you had chosen to continue fighting, I would've had to play a board wipe."

"A board wipe?" the Honey Bee asked.

Cameron nodded. "Rolling Thunder. If I had placed down another mountain, I probably would've had just enough mana to play it."

"What does it do?"

"At the cost of two red mana and X, Rolling Thunder deals X damage divided as I choose between target creatures and/or players."

"What do mean by 'X'?"

"I mean that depending on how much mana I pay, that's how much damage I deal. Anywhere amount as low as one, and as high as…" He looked through the deck, muttering to himself. "25 damage. After seeing what a 3/3 could do, I doubt the place would've been in as good a shape as it is now." The two girls shivered. "But maybe there's something you can help me with. I'm looking for any other humans that may have been washed up on the island. We were all on a cruise to Hawaii when some alarm went off, and the boat crashed. Next thing I know, I'm waking up on the beach with my cards and my phone."

The girls looked at each other in thought. The Honey Bee spoke up first. "I saw something moving around my hive earlier while I was heading out for more nectar. I didn't get a good look at it, but while I was leaving I thought I heard something crying. I didn't have time to check it out because I was on orders, but I'll be looking for it when I get back to my hive."

"Probably a good idea," Cameron replied, before looking at the Grizzly. "What about you?

The Grizzly shook her head. "I haven't seen anything around here or my cave."

"Damn...Oh well. I'm going to be walking around the island looking for a way off that doesn't involve me becoming somebody's lover/toy/food, as well as any other humans to accompany me off the island. If you see anything, be it a human, or something carrying a human, find me and let me know. In fact," He began fishing around his backpack of cards for something. After a few minutes, he pulled out two cards that looked almost identical. "Use these cards to send a message to me. From what I've seen, they go back to their cards when their job is complete or they die."

"What are these?" the bee girl asked. The card depicted a bird with pink and orange wings and a set of long, almost rainbow-like tail feathers.

"It's a Bird of Paradise card. Summon that and write a note to let me know if you find anything. It's a flyer so it should get to me pretty quickly." The two monster girls nodded before going their separate ways, leaving Cameron alone. Only one common thought went through his head, among all of the questions in there.

 _What the hell just happened?_

* * *

 **A/N: So, a few creative liberties were taken, but most of the monsters in here will be based off of the MGE universe. However, they will always be completely driven by lust as the normal universe would depict. As for where/when this takes place, it will be hinted at in the next chapter. In terms of updates...don't expect too much on this front.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Straight Answer? What's that?**

" _I won't lie, this island is probably an entire continent of its own. But that still begs the question of how it's been hidden all this time. One would think that an island of Monster Girls would have been discovered hundreds of years ago. Imagine the kind of trade agreements they'd get in exchange for husbands. But now that I wrote it out, I've thought of one possible reason. What if they tried that a few hundred years ago, and humanity was intolerant because of how they approached the subject, combined with how a chunk of them look? That would explain why they went into hiding, as well as the villages I've seen being hundreds of years behind everywhere else. But even then, something doesn't feel right about it._

" _Since my arrival, I figured out that my Magic cards work similar to the Duel Monster cards from_ Yu-Gi-Oh! _. With the right setting, they can be a means of summoning a creature right out of their card to fight. I'll need to be careful about what deck I use when I battle though, as I don't want the wrong factions getting the wrong idea about me. And that's not even taking into account the multiple board wipes I have in my decks. I'd rather play the neutral party, but considering the kind of cards I have, that may not be possible for long._

" _As for where I am right now, I managed to find a monster willing enough to take me in for the night. And she didn't look ready to rape me on sight either. She seems nice enough but…"_

* * *

"For the last time, I can follow a recipe without doing anything that puts anyone's life in danger!" Cameron snapped at the woman next to him.

"And I'm telling you," the woman snapped back, "I can't trust a total stranger with a knife in my kitchen when he had a bad runin with monsters not even a week ago."

* * *

" _She's a bit of a control freak. She's not the owner of the house, but she certainly dresses and acts like it. Still, I'm glad she took me in. I can only imagine what her master is like, if the way she acts is any indication. How she found me was not something I'd like to repeat either..."_

* * *

Cameron's encounter with the honeybee and grizzly was still fresh in his mind, even after it was already done and over with two days ago. While the two had promised to notify him of any humans that they saw, it had occurred to him not three hours later that he had no idea how he even summoned the creatures in the first place, so he didn't know if they could either.

"Man," he complained, sighing, "and I still don't know where I'm going...I haven't seen anything resembling a human or monster since then…"

He then stopped walking. Looking around, he could somehow feel someone watching him. He shrugged and took off his backpack. _I wonder if any of my snacks are still in here,_ he thought. After a bit of digging, he pulled out a package of unopened Twizzlers, the sweet and sour filled kind. He considered them his kryptonite, since he bought a pack whenever he had the chance. The fact that they weren't wet from the crash didn't even surprise him anymore. He chalked it up to the power of the island and left it at that. If the island can make his Magic cards act like Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards on a duel disk, then who's to say that it can't dry off his stuff?

After zipping up his backpack, he peeled the package open and continued walking, munching on his snack. The feeling was back, only a little stronger, creeping him out a bit. He picked up his pace a little bit, trying to see if they would keep up. They did, and from the feeling, quite easily. He didn't know how he knew, but he could tell this opponent was powerful. He figured if he had to judge them as a card, they'd probably be an uncommon or rare card, roughly a 2/3 if what he was feeling was accurate.

He stopped and pulled out a deck, this one in the yellow box emblazoned with the symbol for white mana. He set his pack on the ground next to him, seeing if his stalker would reveal themselves. He quickly turned and held out his box.

"Come out now, or else I'll whip out my giants!" he called out into seemingly nowhere. Silence reigned all around him. Thirty seconds passed before he relaxed and started to put the box of cards away.

"That's quite possibly the lamest threat I've ever heard from a human being."

The female voice made Cameron jump, causing him to drop the box of cards in the process. Turning back around, he found a girl wearing one of the strangest outfits he'd ever seen. An armored breastplate protected the vitals from melee attacks, a pair of matching gauntlets and grieves on their respective limbs gave her own attacks an extra boost while she was mostly defended. Chainmail hugged her lithe frame and hung down to her thighs, while a rapier hung at her hip. Red eyes observed him in amusement from beneath her wide brimmed hat while he immediately got back on guard.

Feeling a vibration in his pocket, he pulled out his phone, seeing the description of the being in front of him...only the picture had the girl dressed a little more provocatively.

Dhampir: A sudden mutational variant of the Vampire. When a vampire has sex with a man before he becomes an incubus and conceives a child, these monsters are rarely born. They have an open-hearted personality, which is the polar opposite of a vampire. They don't look down on humans, and they honestly express their fondness for the men they like. Though they are actually completely monsters, they are also regarded as "half human and half monster."

He read this description and sighed a little in relief. "As long as she's not gonna jump me, we're golden."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The last time I encountered a being that made this thing go off, the both of them tried to rape me. It was only sheer dumb luck that I'm still walking around."

"And how is that?" Her expression never changed from curious amusement.

He paused and stared at her for a moment. _I don't know if I should give the full story yet...She may not be a monster who attacks humans, I can't be too careful._ "I woke up on the beach about two days ago. I was on a cruise with my family and something made the ship crash. I don't know who or what it was, but when I woke up, everything of mine that was nearby was still dry, and in pristine condition, which after taking a dip in the ocean, shouldn't be possible. When I was walking, I heard somebody making weird moaning sounds. I went to investigate only to find a beegirl doing the nasty with some kind of flower girl, which I learned were a Honeybee and Alraune respectively. I tried to sneak off, only to step on a twig, which got both of their attention. The Honeybee proceeded to chase me through the forest, only to lead me smack into a Grizzly. She tackled me to the ground while the bee watched. I thought I was about to die, when something even weirder happened. This dangerous looking leopard tackled the Grizzly to the ground, then disappeared. To this day, I still don't know what happened. I ran off as fast as I could while they were still stunned from the leopard's entrance."

As his story ended, Cameron noticed all amusement was gone from her face and was replaced by the kind of expression found on special agent Gibbs from NCIS. Cold, calculating, and a small hint of anger. She folded her arms and looked right at him.

"How long ago did you crash here?" she asked.

"Roughly two days ago," Cameron replied, "I have no clue how long I was unconscious for, though."

"Was there anybody near you when you woke up?"

"No. If there are other survivors, I'm currently looking for them, as well as a way out of here that doesn't involve me becoming somebody's toy or husband."

The blonde halfling giggled lightly at his remark. "I can see why you'd have an issue with that." She got serious again and thought for a minute. "I can get you a place to stay temporarily, but you will have to pull your weight to do it."

"Where at? At this point, I'll take anything that has food, a shower, and a bed."

The girl smirked behind her hand, though whether she was trying to hide it was questionable. It was because of this image that he thought, _I really need to work on my phrasing…_

"That won't be a problem," she replied, holding out a hand. "My name is Rosalina."

* * *

"...aaaaaaand dinner is served!" Cameron announced as he set the hot pan on a pair of thick coasters.

The other occupants around the table looked at the strange dish with varying degrees of curiosity, hunger, and disgust. Said occupants happened to be maids that worked in the mansion he currently resided in. His host seemed to be the head of these maids, if not their mistress. Her blonde hair was in a short bobcut and her clothes consisted of a short, red skirt ending just half way down her thighs as well as a red blouse with a black corset.

"What is it?" One of the maids asked, raising an eyebrow at me. She was a rather dark monster in a maid uniform that split into more tentacles toward the bottom, where her legs would go. Her "hair" was made to look like a high ponytail, and her eyes were a deep yellow surrounded by black instead of white. His phone chose that moment to vibrate, prompting him to pick it up and look at the entry.

Shoggoth: A slimy monster that has an amorphous body. Long, long ago they were created by the demons of chaos as a race of servants, but it is purported that they fled from their former mistresses upon gaining intelligence and emotions with the ascension of the current Demon Lord. They have submissive, quiet personalities, and they do not attack humans. Even as of the present, it is said that in pursuit of a new master, they will appear before men who strike their fancy, or anyone who desires to employ them, and serve them devotedly.

He was about to answer when another maid spoke up, this one another Shoggoth, only her hair was tied into a braid over her shoulder. "It barely looks appetizing even for humans…"

"It's a family recipe," Cameron replied. "It's just a regular breakfast casserole, but my family nicknamed it 'Cholesterol Casserole' because of how much stuff goes in there that raises that count. It's still really good."

"What's in it?" a third Shoggoth asked, her hair in a pair of twin ponytails.

"Scrambled eggs, potatoes, ham, cheese, and a can of mushroom soup I had in my survival supplies. Try it!" He held up a spoonful of the odd dish to Rosalina, who flinched back out of reflex. She sniffed the spoonful carefully, blew on it to cool it down, and took a bite, humming thoughtfully as she chewed. The maids leaned in curiously as she swallowed the bite.

"It's not bad," she eventually said. "It's different, like not quite a peasant's dish, but not anything you'd see in a noble's house either. The spices you put on top of the potatoes don't distract from anything either."

The Shoggoth maids took that as their cue to dish up, each taking a fairly large helping before trying it themselves. Not two seconds after their first bite did they almost ravenously dig in. Cameron chuckled to himself as he took the last helping from the pan and split it between his plate and another that he took out.

"Who's that plate for?" The blonde host asked.

"The head of the house," Cameron replied, "whenever they decide to come back here. I figure it would be good to let them try this for themselves...only question is, is there any way to keep this warm until they get back?"

* * *

A few hours later, Cameron was in his temporary housing, going through his decks. He figured that if he was gonna survive, he'd need his best cards out first. Which unfortunately meant tearing the two 60-card decks he made apart. _If the monsters here are anything like what the MoGiDex (Monster Girl Pokedex) is saying, I'll need to be ready to play aggro hardcore. Even if it means taking a few hits every now and then._ He debated on teaching the Shoggoth maids how to play, but didn't want to risk anything getting into the sleeves and ruining the cards. As he was deciding on which card to switch out for a wincon idea he had, He heard the door to the mansion (read as castle) he was staying in open quite loudly.

"WHO LET A HUMAN IN MY HOME?!" The female he could only describe as the owner of the house bellowed out. Even when yelling, she sounded like she held herself with only the highest of grace. As the nearby maids scrambled to meet their master, Cameron quickly chose a card and switched it before scooping up his deck and putting it back in its box. He then crept into a nearby hallway to see all of the maids in the building lined up and bowing to the woman in the middle. Rosalina stood in front of her, bowing also.

The woman wore white blouse and a corset that was held together by several small chains, connected to a long skirt going down to her feet that split up the middle. The corset had slightly pushed up her fairly impressive bust. Her gloves and stockings matched this color scheme, each going to the highest possible point on the respective limbs. To complete the look, she had a long cape on her back that rose at the shoulders into two claws. She looked completely stunning, if not intimidating.

Cameron thought he heard someone say something like "this will be interesting" but shook it off as his imagination. He instead turned his attention to the conversation happening in front of him.

"Ma'am," Rosalina began, "I found him wandering the forest nearby all by himself, and he told me that his ship had crashed a few days ago. After a runin with other monster girls that were scared off by another creature, I figured it would be best to let him rest here to recover and get his bearings as long as he worked for it. He even made dinner for everyone."

"So you brought a human man to my home while I was away, and thought he was worthy to work here? You must have seduced him already, if that is the case."

Rosalina frowned, but remained bowed. "No, Lady Mirina. I did not use any of my monster abilities to convince him. He knew what I was through something akin to an encyclopedia on monster girls. Despite this, he still chose to come with me. I don't know why."

"Did you not think for a second that he might be an assassin out for my blood?" the older woman asked coldly. "How do you know he didn't poison the food he made?"

He couldn't take any more and walked out from his hiding spot. "Because she literally watched me make the dish from start to finish. I even left some for you if you were hungry."

The woman sneered. "I have no reason to believe you, _human._ " she spat.

Cameron raised an eyebrow. "Wow, racist much?" he quipped, before immediately slapping a hand to his mouth. _I really shouldn't have said that…_

The air suddenly felt a lot heavier as her eyes glowed with barely contained malice. "Do you wish to repeat that, boy?" Vibration in his pocket made him fish out his phone as the MoGiDex confirmed what she was for him.

Vampire: A higher rank race of monsters, boasting high magical power and a surprising amount of superhuman strength, which inhabit places such as mamono realms. They reveal themselves only at night and use the cover of darkness to attack their prey. They are extremely prideful, considering themselves to be "nobility" while strongly looking down upon humans as lesser beings.

"I'm saying you need to calm yourself there, Vegeta," Cameron snipped back. _Why am I still talking right now? Somebody shut me up!_ "Or would you rather duel me to calm down?" _Dammit, why did I say that?_

Mirina's eyebrow rose. "And just what would your weapon be against me, boy?"

Cameron took a shuddering breath to calm himself. "This isn't a typical sword duel I'm talking about. I'm talking a duel of strategy. My weapon of choice?" He pulled out the white, leatherbound deckbox. "A deck of 100 cards; spell and creature summons, all commanded by one legendary creature."

The vampire's eyes narrowed. She knew what he was talking about, which meant this kind of thing can't have been too rare in noblehouses at the very least. "Meet in the courtyard in an hour. Our duel will begin then. My commander will be Edgar Markov." She then folded her arms, accentuating her breasts. "Who do you name as your commander?"

"I…" he thought for a moment, wondering who he should pick.

 _Let me take care of this,_ a female voice ordered in his mind. He looked at his backpack and opened it, pulling out the commander's card from the purple, rectangular box. _Allow me to show her what we can_ really _do._ It felt like the voice was coming from the card itself, at which Cameron nodded.

"I name my commander as Kaalia of the Vast," he declared.

Mirina rose an eyebrow, but nodded her head. "Then we duel in one hour in the courtyard. Prepare yourself for your defeat." With that, she strode off with her cape flowing behind her.

* * *

" _I've been going through my decks making the necessary updates to ensure I win. The battle with the Vampire of the House is what's making me do this. I know I need to win, or else I'm royally screwed in more ways than one."_

Rosalina burst through the door to Cameron's room, disturbing his writing. "ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE?!" she exclaimed. "There isn't a duel that my master hasn't won!"

"Then she's never played Magic like I do," Cameron responded.

"This isn't about what spells she knows for some game, she has a contract with one of the most fearsome vampires known to our kind!"

"If the contracts are based on the cards, then I have a creature even more fearsome."

"And what could this Kaalia do that Edgar can't?!"

"Okay, first off, his name is Edgar MARKOV, the founder and current lord of the Markov clan of Innistrad. Second, his abilities consist of one explanation that got him banned in one-on-one play in tournaments."

"And just what was that?"

"Essentially, whenever he attacks, all vampires I control get bigger, and he not only gets to attack on the turn he's summoned, but he also hits first."

Rosalina's expression didn't change. "And just how will that make this better?"

"Because Kaalia is a lot quicker, and has more variety." Cameron looked at the clock. "I understand that Edgar is powerful, quite honestly the most powerful of the C17 commanders, but Kaalia is a lot worse, and that's why I can't lose easily."

"Are you even nervous about what would happen if you lose?" she asked dubiously.

"ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED!" he yelled, making her jump. "For all I know, she's just waiting for me to lose just so she can kill me herself! I don't want that to happen! The only reason I even tried to duel her is because I didn't know if anybody even had these cards here!"

Rosalina sighed. "Then I better explain it to you. On this continent, certain monsters are given a contract to summon various creatures. These contracts are usually given to noble or high ranking monsters. When someone declares a duel with these contracts, they are given the option to use one summon as a commander. Using the mana around the area, they have their respective summons battle along with any other spells they know." She pulled out a card of her own, showing a pale woman made to look like the peak of nobility in a black and red dress. "It wasn't until about 20 or so years ago that the contracts took on another form, the cards you seem to have an abundance of."

"How did that happen? The form switch of the contracts, I mean."

"One human that was here was a prisoner of another monster, a Dark Mage. He bided his time and grabbed a few of these contracts. He studied how the contracts work, took them and, after managing to avoid detection, fled the continent."

"How long ago was that incident?"

"According to our archives, February of 1993."

 _And in August 1993, Magic the Gathering was born. Which would mean that he was probably the guy who created Magic for Wizards of the Coast,_ Cameron realized. "I get the feeling there's more to this story," he mused.

"There is, but you currently don't have the time for it. You're duel is in five minutes and you're going to need all the luck in the world to win against my mistress."

"It's not just luck that I'll need," Cameron sighed as he put his cards in their box. "What I'll need most is the Heart of the Cards."

* * *

"So you actually showed up?" the vampire asked. "I thought you would have been too scared to."

Cameron shrugged. "Well, considering I'm the one who challenged you, it wouldn't even make sense to back out just because I'm terrified."

She scoffed. "Don't think you'll be getting out of this alive, boy. You may have a commander I've not heard of, but I can assure you this will not end in your favor."

He glared at her and readied his deck. "Don't be so sure. Now how are we doing this?"

She pointed to the cobblestone center of the garden. It was roughly 20x24 with a small section marked for each end. The way the moon shone in the sky seemed to give it a fitting yet creepy feel. "This area will serve as our arena. It will be big enough for our summons to do battle." She then walked to the far side of the arena, prompting him to do the same on the opposite side. Two platforms rose up in front of them, showing where to place their respective cards.

 _Dear lord, this really is like the Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime,_ Cameron thought. They placed their decks, causing both platforms to glow slightly. The glow spread to the rest of the arena, giving enough light to see their own hands while still dark enough to not blind them. Like silhouettes, their respective commanders stood behind them, ready for battle.

Drawing their hands, they began. " **Duel!"**

 _Cameron vs. Lady Mirina (Life: 40/40)_

"The first move is mine," the vampire declared. "I'll begin by placing a Swamp. That will be all for me." A pool of glowing, purple water appeared in front of her.

 _Average first move,_ Cameron thought. "Then it's my turn," he replied, drawing a card. "I'll start with my own Swamp, then I'll use the mana it gives me to play a Sol Ring." The purple pool appeared in front of him, only for the glow to leave and go a few feet in front of the pool. It shifted to a grey color, forming into a glowing ring. "Then I'll use the mana from it to play Lightning Greaves." The glow from the ring formed into a pair of boots that stayed toward the edge of the field. "In case you don't know, Lightning Greaves is an artifact that, when equipped to a creature, grants the abilities haste and shroud."

"I'm well aware of the artifact's abilities, boy."

"I'll end my turn then." _I don't see this going well if I got a hand that good in the beginning. I need to be careful with how I play my cards..._ he glanced at his deck and his commander. _Well, as careful as I can be with a deck like this._

"I draw," Mirina declared, "Then, I'll use both mana to play my own Sol Ring and Blade of the Bloodchief." The glow of the pool intensified before leaving and forming into a ring and a double-ended blade that settled off the side of the field. "I believe that will be all for me."

 _That's odd. I thought she'd have summoned something by now._ "I draw, then after placing down a Mountain, I'll end my turn." A glowing pile of rocks jutted from the ground right next to the swamp.

Mirina frowned before making her move. "I play a swamp, then summon Vampire Nighthawk (2/3), equipping it with Blade of the Bloodchief!" The ground glowed as the vampire crouched, landing just on the edge of the shadows. His long hair fell around his yellowish skin and his cape, while almost completely moth eaten, added to the intimidation factor. Immediately, he picked up the double-ended blade as another vampire, wearing black plated armor, appeared in a flash.

 _That's right, Edgar's ability._ "This can only end so well," Cameron muttered.

"In case you are unaware, when Edgar Markov is on the battlefield or in the Command Zone, every vampire spell I cast gives me a 1/1 black vampire token. I will end for now."

"Untap, upkeep, draw!" He smirked at the card he just drew. "I'll play a Plains." The ground on the other side of the Mountain became a lush field of grass surrounded by a white ring. "Then I'll use all of my mana to cast my Commander, Kaalia of the Vast (2/2)!" The spirit of the woman behind him seemed to jump, reappearing just above the battlefield. Her hooded dress looked designed for fighting, and her legs each had a tattoo on the outer thigh. Her red hair gave her a furious aura combined with her glowing white eyes. "Then, I'll use this chance now to equip her with Lightning Greaves." The glowing boots appeared on her feet, making her straighten slightly. "Finally I'll attack with her, making her ability trigger!" The woman launched forward, raising her staff into the air like she was about to strike before the vampire could do anything. "From my hand, I put Demon of Catastrophes (6/6) onto the battlefield, tapped and attacking!"

Her move was immediate. "I block the demon with my Vampire Nighthawk!"

The nighthawk moved quickly, spreading his arms in front of the large demon that appeared behind Kaalia. His hand went right through the smaller creature, piercing its heart and nailing the vampiress behind him.

"Did I forget to mention that Demon of Catastrophes has Flying and Trample?"

Kaalia had continued on course and smashed her staff into Mirina's head at the same time. Above her, a shield counted up 2.

 _Lady Mirina: 37, 2CD_

As the demon and vampire shattered into light shards, Mirina seemed to notice that my field wasn't empty. "You should have had to sacrifice a creature to cast that demon," she grunted. "Why is your commander still on the field?"

"Because I didn't cast him. Kaalia's ability triggers whenever she attacks. Said ability allows me to put any creature in my hand onto the battlefield, tapped and attacking. Because it's not casting, I didn't need to pay any mana or sacrifice a creature to bring him out." _Of course, her ability is limited to only Angels, Demons, and Dragons, but that's all I put in here to begin with, so I didn't lie._

* * *

The shoggoth maids watched the duel from the window in the kitchen. They really didn't know who to cheer for. Their master was a brilliant strategist in her own right, but the boy held his own fairly well, especially since he was able to score first blood.

"What do you think, Misa," the pigtailed shoggoth asked, "Could he really win against Lady Mirina?"

"I don't know," the ponytailed one, Misa, replied. "He's not one who thinks very far ahead, but he's able to adapt quickly thanks to his commander."

"I think he can win," the braided shoggoth said, making the others look in confusion.

"What makes you say that, Jillian?" Misa asked.

"His commander isn't one for doing large amounts of damage herself. She's mainly there for chip damage while the other, much larger creatures serve as a distraction." This caused the maids to look at each other and think. "But here's the real kicker. With his commander's ability, he can bring out anything in his hand for free with no side effects outside of them entering the battlefield."

The maid group looked at the battle, noticing the shield with number 2 on it. "What's that number?" Misa asked.

"That's commander damage," Rosalina replied, coming up to the window.

"What is that?" Jillian asked.

"It's a tracker from how much damage you've taken from somebody else's Commander. If you take 21 commander damage, that's it. Game over."

"You mean like the Phyrexian ability Infect?"

"Sort of. Infect does damage as -1/-1 counters on creatures, but if you get hit by an infect creature, you get dealt Poison counters. If you take 10 poison counters, you're dead. Commander damage is like a more forgiving version of that, in that it takes more to make somebody lose the game, but it has no extra effect to creatures."

The maids nodded in understanding before looking back at the match.

* * *

"It's your move, lady," Cameron taunted.

She untapped her mana and drew her card, studying her hand. "From my hand, I play a Mountain, then summon Stromkirk Captain (2/2)!" A small, glowing pile of rocks jutted from the ground next to the pool of black mana. The glow from both sources coalesced into a circle on the ground, before an armored man with dark grey skin and black hair appeared in a flash, standing ready with a spear in his hands right as another token vampire appeared next to him. "Next, I'll equip my captain with Blade of the Bloodchief. I will end my turn there."

 _Alright, so she only needs a white source and then she can summon Edgar himself. I need to end this quickly._ "Untap, upkeep, draw!" His eyes widened at the card he drew. _Oh, that's dirty. LET'S DO IT!_ "I move to combat. Kaalia, swing in again. And when she attacks, I put Ob Nixilis, Unshackled (4/4) onto the battlefield attacking also!" Kaalia flew at Mirina, flying right over the two vampires to strike. Behind her, a demon that looked like a typical depiction of Satan himself flew, grinning like a madman. Both creatures struck her, making her flinch.

 _Lady Mirina: 31, 4CD_

"Oh, and I hope you don't need to search for anything. Ob Nixilis makes sure you pay your toll for doing so."

Mirina rose an eyebrow. "And what toll is that?"

"Nothing much, just sacrificing a creature and losing 10 life. Oh, and he gets bigger whenever something dies."

" **You give me too little credit,"** the demon growled, making Cameron and Mirina stare in disbelief. The creature's glare shifted to his summoner. " **If I wanted to, I could take over this entire plane without much effort."**

"Maybe," Cameron replied, regaining himself, "just not in this game. Right now, you're under mine and Kaalia's command. So focus on the battle now."

Ob Nixilis sneered, but said nothing more. _That's gonna need investigating later..._

"My turn then," Mirina called, drawing her card. She frowned minutely, then made her move, tapping all of her mana. "I play Sanguine Bond!" A purple glow surrounded her briefly as the card image floated next to her.

"So now, whenever you gain life," Cameron observed, "I lose that much."

"Precisely. I will end my turn there."

Cameron frowned. _If she has the other half of that combo, I'm gonna be royally pissed._ He drew his card, and took a breath. The battle was getting to him, and it was amazing. _It's been a while since I played this deck. I've forgotten how broken she is._ Glancing at his hand briefly, he made a decision on how to play his next move. "First, I'll play my own enchantment; Dragon Tempest!" The card image of dragons flying in a lightning storm floated beside him as he picked up a red glow. "With this card, flying creatures that enter under my control have haste until end of turn. And if it's a Dragon, it deals damage to any creature or player I choose equal to however many dragons I have."

* * *

Rosalina frowned at this play. _That seems like a waste of his limited mana,_ she thought. As if reading her mind, one of the maids spoke up.

"What's the point of giving his creatures haste when he can put them on the battlefield already attacking?"

"It could be a setup for a backup plan," Rosalina theorized. "But at this point, it's hard to tell."

* * *

"Next, I'll place another Mountain." The glowing pile of rocks rumbled, growing about six inches higher. "Then, I move to combat. Kaalia, Ob Nixilis, get in there again. And with Kaalia's ability, I put Demanding Dragon (5/5) onto the battlefield! So not only are you taking damage from my three attackers, but there's also two more triggers to resolve."

"Damn," the vampire muttered, "so this was your plan." The two legendary creatures flew at her again, this time followed by a black-scaled dragon that dwarfed everything on the battlefield in size.

"First, there's the damage you take from Dragon Tempest because a dragon entered my side of the battlefield." A bolt of reddish-purple lightning shot out from the card, hitting Mirina square in the chest.

 _Lady Mirina: 30, 4CD_

"Then you get a choice, either sacrifice a creature or take five more damage." She cursed under her breath, sacrificing one of her tokens.

" **I feel your sacrifice giving me power,"** the demon on his field chuckled darkly.

 _Ob Nixilis, Unshackled (5/5)_

"Now everyone, get in there!"

Kaalia's staff, along with Ob Nixilis' claws and the Dragon's fire tore into the vampire all at the same time, making her scream in pain. The resulting explosion covered the board in smoke.

 _Lady Mirina: 18, 6CD_

"You still alive over there?"

"Don't you dare patronize me!"

The response made the boy jump, looking to where he thought his opponent was. The vampire was breathing heavily, leaning against her console as the smoke cleared. "Because a creature died on my field," she gasped, glaring at Cameron, "my Stromkirk Captain gets two +1/+1 counters from Blade of the Bloodchief."

 _Stromkirk Captain (4/4)_

 _Oh boy,_ Cameron thought, flinching at the murderous look in her eyes. _I get the feeling she's not messing around anymore._ He glanced at his field, noticing his creatures all taking a knee in some way. _And I'm completely tapped out._ "I'll end my turn there."

"I draw!" She glanced at the card and smirked. "I'll play a Plains." The grass surrounded by a ring of white appeared beside the pile of rocks representing her red mana. "Then, I'll tap all of my mana to summon Patron of the Vein (4/4)!" Along with the token vampire, another creature took the field. This vampire had pale purple skin and two blood soaked blades in its hands. Instead of legs, however, it had a small tornado of black energy keeping it sustained in the air. "And when he enters the battlefield, I get to destroy one of your creatures! Say goodbye to your Ob Nixilis!"

The creature flew forward, stabbing Ob Nixilis in his heart and eye and pulling in opposite directions. The legendary demon shattered into glass as the blood splattered onto the entire vampire side of the battlefield.

"And not only that, but when a creature you control dies, it gets exiled and all of my vampires each get a +1/+1 counter!"

 _Patron of the Vein (5/5)_

 _Stromkirk Captain (5/5)_

 _3 Vampire Tokens (2/2)_

"In response to your Patron trigger," Cameron interrupted, "I play Disenchant to get rid of your Sanguine Bond!" The enchantment card shattered, but Mirina didn't seem worried at all.

"No matter. I move to my combat phase. I choose to attack with my three tokens and Stromkirk Captain!" The captain vampire raised his arm, making the tokens tense with anticipation. The moment his arm went down, the tokens charged with the captain bringing up the rear. Thinking quickly, Cameron came to a decision.

"I'll block Stromkirk Captain with Demanding Dragon! I'll soak the rest of the damage." _This is gonna hurt…_

"Don't forget that Stromkirk Captain gives all my other vampire +1/+1, so you'll be taking 9 damage total!" The dragon flew at the group, flying over the tokens before snatching the captain in its mouth. The two creatures traded multiple blows before shattering. Said tokens jumped at Cameron, slashing and biting him three times each. He screamed as his life counted down.

 _Cameron: 31, 0CD_

"I will end my turn here."

 _That was a hell of a power play,_ Cameron thought frantically. _I knew I was celebrating too early. I need to topdeck something nice really quick if I want to win. If I don't, I'm gonna lose and be royally screwed!_

* * *

 **A/N: Welp, this was waiting to be written since this story first came to be. Like, it's been sitting on the duel between Mirina and Cameron for at least a year now...doesn't really bode well for this story's future, but I will try to juggle this and my other stories. Whether that works well or not is another story...**

 **...**

 **...I hate my puns...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Feel the Power of EDGE!**

" _I certainly wasn't expecting the duel to work like it did. But I wasn't complaining. If anything, it made strategizing with my decks a lot easier later down the line. In terms of my battle with the vampire Mirina, however...let's just say that the personalities of the legendary creatures in my decks were a little bit of a wakeup call. I wasn't expecting any of my creatures to talk to me, much less have a personality._

 _But I have to admit, she was a very skilled Magic player. Her deck was probably one of the most fearsome, on par with one of my brother-in-law's decks. I almost didn't even make it out. At the same time though, her deck felt like it was missing something. That was something I learned later on…"_

* * *

Cameron breathed heavily, trying to regain his composure. "My move then. Untap, Upkeep, Draw!" His eyes widened slightly at his newest card. _Another to save for later. For now, it's serious time._ "I play the land Haunted Fengraf." A small area was immediately taken over by a set of graves and gated off by a black, iron fence. "Then, I'll hard cast Angel of the Dawn." A white glow shone from above as a woman in a white robe and blue sash descended to the battlefield. Her wings were orange, like the rising sun. "When she enters, all my creatures get +1/+1 and vigilance until end of turn. Then I move to combat! Because of my Dragon Tempest, my Angel has haste until the end of my turn. Both of you, go for it! And on Kaalia's attack trigger, I play Rune-Scarred Demon!"

Another demon entered behind Kaalia, this one looking similar to Ob Nixilis, except black and covered in glowing blue runes.

"Or, as I used to call him, Demonic Tutor on a stick. Because when he enters the battlefield, I get to search my deck for any card I want and put it right into my hand. I suggest you choose who you block wisely."

She clicked her teeth in annoyance. "Patron of the Vein, block the Angel of the Dawn!" Her only flying creature moved, stabbing the angel in her stomach and slashing outwards. More blood splattered the vampire side of the field as Kaalia and Rune-Scarred Demon struck.

 _Stromkirk Captain (8/8)_

 _Patron of the Vein (6/6)_

 _3 Vampire Tokens (3/3)_

 _Lady Mirina: 8, 5CD_

 _Sweet, another hit from these guys and this game is over._

"I end my turn here."

"Then I draw." She looked at her hand before making her move. "I summon my own commander. Come forth, Lord Edgar Markov (4/4)!"

From behind her, a rather well aged man jumped to the battlefield. His white, slicked back hair complimented his grey skin, and the red and silver armor and sword only added to the intimidation factor.

" **You seem to be in a bind, Mirina,"** the vampire lord observed. " **Putting off summoning me for so long, I'd think you were holding back."**

"Apologies, Lord Markov," Mirina bowed. "I had underestimated him before. I know what must be done now. He must be brought down this turn."

Edgar stared at his opponents thoughtfully. " **Kaalia of the Vast...a name both mocked and feared among legends."**

" **You aren't exactly spoken highly of yourself, Markov,"** Kaalia retorted. " **Regardless of what is said about us, one thing is certain. Only one of our controllers will be the victor of this battle."**

Edgar nodded. " **Indeed. Let the finale begin!"**

Mirina bowed again. "Yes, my lord. I move to combat. I attack with all of my creatures, except for Patron of the Vein. Ground forces, move out!"

" **For the Markov clan! For Innistrad!"** Edgar called out as his forces charged forward.

"And whenever Lord Markov attacks, all of my vampires get a +1/+1 counter!"

 _Stromkirk Captain (9/9)_

 _Patron of the Vein (7/7)_

 _Edgar Markov (5/5)_

 _3 Vampire Tokens (4/4)_

The sight of all those vampires getting closer did not help Cameron's anxiety about this duel in the slightest. He knew what he wanted to keep on the field for insurance, but he didn't want to take much more damage.

" **Cameron!"** Kaalia called, readying her spear. " **What are your orders?"**

Cameron gripped his head, trying to come up with something. _Damn it, what do I do?!_

" _What's your normal playstyle?"_

Cameron's eyes widened as he remembered the words of his friend. The one who got him into the game in the first place.

* * *

" _What is your normal playstyle?"_

 _Cameron sighed. "Hit hard and quick before my opponent can do anything, but staying aware of what they have and having the cards to stay on top of it?"_

" _So to sum it up, you're trying to play politics with aggro."_

" _I guess."_

" _You can't do that, man. Because you're aggro, the only politics you should be playing is 'What do I get out of not hitting you?' and picking from there."_

" _That's my problem though. I know what kind of decks you have, and I always operate on the assumption that my opponents are on the same level, if not higher than you."_

" _So you're aware of your opponent's ability."_

" _And as a result, I don't attack every turn, but when I do attack, I go all Leeroy Jenkins."_

" _Then go off of that." Cameron looked at his friend in confusion. "These are the questions that you would ask when building your decks. But an aggro playstyle is a bit different. With Aggro, you don't care about damage, just as long as you survive for the next turn."_

* * *

 _That's right,_ he thought. _I have my deck to rely on, and they rely on me. I play aggro, and if there's one thing I learned about that, it's that damage doesn't matter, so long as we survive and hit harder than the opponent!_

"I block Stromkirk Captain with Rune-Scarred Demon, then soak the rest of the damage!"

"What?!"

The giant demon flew in front of the dark armored vampire, earning a quick trip to exile from it. Meanwhile, various slashes and scratches from the vampires left some pretty harsh gashes on Cameron's body, causing him to scream in pain again. The finishing blow came from Edgar himself, swinging his sword in a downward slash.

 _Stromkirk Captain (12/12)_

 _Patron of the Vein (8/8)_

 _Edgar Markov (6/6)_

 _3 Vampire Tokens (5/5)_

 _Cameron: 10, 5CD_

Cameron gripped the console trying to keep himself steady. _If these were actual creatures right now, I'd have been dead the moment she made her power play. But I have a power play of my own here._

"Is that the end of your turn?" he called to his opponent.

Mirina had to admire the gall of this boy. The fact that he was even standing at this point spoke volumes about his courage and determination. "Yes, I end my turn."

"Untap, upkeep, draw!" He looked at his new card and smirked. "I'll play another Swamp, then move to combat! However, before I declare my attackers, I'll play the instant card Anguished Unmaking, targeting Patron of the Vein! All for the low cost of three mana and three life, I can exile any nonland permanent!"

 _Cameron: 7, 5CD_

A vampire in black and silver armor appeared brandishing a silver blade. What made him stand out, however, was the long silver hair and the striking resemblance to Edgar. This was Sorin Markov.

" _I'm sorry, but there's no other way,"_ he muttered. Faster than anyone could blink, Sorin slashed his sword through the flying vampire, making it explode into black smoke before disappearing himself.

"Next, Kaalia will get in there, and from my hand I play Avacyn, Angel of Hope (8/8)!" From the sky, another bright light shone. This one revealed an angel with stark white hair and pale skin, contrasted only by her black, armored leather dress and thigh high boots. In her hands was a two-pronged spear that glowed with a holy aura.

" **Unbelievable,"** Edgar muttered. " **I didn't think it was possible to surprise me anymore."**

"Before I take any damage," Mirina interrupted, "I play Cradle to Grave, destroying Avacyn!"

"Sorry, but that doesn't work on her."

" **This game is over,"** Edgar chuckled. " **She's unkillable in this form."**

"What?!"

The two flying women nodded once at each other, then flew at the vampire noble. Their respective weapons crossed before slashing in an X, resulting in Cameron's victory.

 _Lady Mirina: 0, 7CD_

The creatures on the field faded out, with Kaalia and Avacyn bowing to their summoner before they too left the field. The glow of the land cards disappeared, making the only source of light in the courtyard the full moon high in the sky.

"How," Mirina muttered before yelling, "How could that not have worked?! You had to have cheated!"

Cameron's reply was immediate. "This version of Avacyn has one ability outside of Flying and Vigilance. She, and all permanents that I control, are indestructible. In other words, the moment she entered, that was game over."

"Impossible! No such contract exists with an angel like that!"

The card was in his hand before she finished her sentence. "For 5WWW, Avacyn, Angel of Hope is an 8/8 legendary creature with flying and vigilance. In addition, she and all permanents you control are indestructible. Cost a pretty penny to get her in Japanese, but she's even more expensive in English."

"Then how am I supposed to trust what you say that card says?"

Cameron's phone lit up with the description of the card and its rulings in english. "That's how."

The sound of footsteps caught his attention, facing Rosalina as ran up to the arena.

"Did that just happen?" she asked with a small amount of fear.

"Yeah," Cameron sighed, turning back to Mirina. "Do you want to know what you did wrong? Why you lost to some random human kid with a deck that was built for casual play?"

Mirina sighed. "What did I do?"

"Aside from the obvious part of underestimating me, you also seemed to rely on only your biggest creatures to deal damage until the very end. With an aggro deck like Edgar, you want to be swinging the moment you have something hit the field. That's something I've learned many times in my years playing this game. And it's the main reason I will never play a blue deck anymore."

"What kind of deck was that?" Rosalina asked. "I've never seen someone pump creatures out that quickly before."

Cameron chuckled bitterly. "The kind that almost always gets hated out in multiplayer first due to how broken she really is." He walked over to his opponent and stuck out his hand. "Still, that was a good game. Edgar is fairly broken himself, and if I used any of my other decks, I doubt I would have lasted as long as I did. GG."

Mirina looked between his hand and his face, as if trying to figure out a puzzle. Slowly, she grasped his hand in her own and shook once. She admired his way of thinking on the fly, but her pride demanded some form of revenge. As much as she wanted to make him suffer for beating her in a duel, she knew that it wouldn't look good for a noble of her stature to stoop to petty revenge.

"As you say," she eventually replied, "GG."

* * *

Cameron's stay at the mansion relaxed a lot after that. Mirina mostly avoided him, and he mostly stayed away from her. It was the very next night when he was finally alone in his room that he looked at his cards more thoroughly. He had taken some of the legendary cards from out of his decks and placed them on one of the playmats he had in his backpack.

The playmat itself was a rectangular piece of cloth and rubberized foam, black on rubber side, and the cloth side depicted a dark cave with curved, yet pointed rocks jutting from the ground and holes of green, filtered light shining down.

"So what's the deal with you guys?" He asked the group of cards. "What makes you able to talk now when you were originally normal cards before?"

Kaalia's spirit rose from her card. " _I believe it's the environment of this place. They have said the cards are summoning contracts to them, so it would stand to reason that the same effect works on your own cards."_

" _At the same time,"_ Avacyn countered, " _there are certain creatures that still retain sentience, those being the legendaries."_

"As evidenced by you two and Ob Nixilis," Cameron finished.

The two winged women nodded. " _The legendaries,"_ Avacyn continued, " _while maintaining sentience, will still follow your commands in battle. However, this does bring up one problem."_

"You got that thought too, huh?" Cameron observed.

" _What problem would that be?"_ Kaalia asked.

"What happens with the Planeswalkers? We know that your guys will still listen to me because of your creature status, but Planeswalkers work differently. Somehow I doubt that they will listen to some random guy that summoned them for seemingly no reason."

Kaalia thought for a moment. " _Why not test it? Who would be the least dangerous of the ones you do have?"_

"Depends, are we talking about lore or just actual abilities on the card?"

" _For now,"_ Avacyn spoke up, " _I'd suggest using any Planeswalker that doesn't have a Black mana cost."_

Cameron shuddered. "Yeah, the last thing we need is someone like Ob Nixilis or Lilliana running around ravaging the planet." Looking through his extra cards, he pulled out the two cards of the most seemingly level-headed Planeswalkers. "Now, should I try Jace, or Gideon…"

" _I would suggest Jace,"_ Kaalia answered, " _as he is the most level-headed and least likely to act irrationally."_

" _Actually,"_ Avacyn countered, " _I would suggest Gideon. While not the most level-headed, his sense of justice would keep him from attacking on site"_

"Plus he wouldn't try to wipe my memory if things don't go his way…"

" _But at the same time, Jace is the smartest and most willing/able to adapt to whatever situation you find yourself in here."_

Cameron shook his head. "I'm not gonna test it tonight. I'm not willing to mess with something like this without some way of making sure it's safe."

The card spirits conceded before vanishing. He looked at the two planeswalkers in his hand before putting them back into the box he kept them in. _If I do test this out, it needs to be in a very controlled environment and with a great many safety precautions in place._

* * *

The next morning saw Cameron outside of the mansion with his backpack of cards also containing food (in a separate pocket) and a canteen of water on his hip. He kept his clothes from the crash, but made sure they were clean before heading out. He was met with the maids and Rosalina saying various goodbyes to him.

"Before you go," Rosalina offered, "you know how dangerous this island can be thanks to that device of yours. So, I'm giving you a little parting gift." In her arms was a grey cloth that was neatly folded, giving the appearance of a blanket.

"What is it?" Cameron asked, knowing there was something off about the item.

"It's an artifact to help you stay under the senses of those that wish to harm you. This is a Whispersilk Cloak." His eyes widened as the Dhampire pushed the gift into his arms. "It will serve you well as you search for other survivors."

"And not just for how broken it is as a card," he muttered before bowing to the woman. "Thank you for everything. I hope one day I can repay you."

Rosalina smirked before quickly sobering up. "Do you know where to go from here?"

Cameron thought for a minute. "I was thinking of going back to the beach where I washed up, but I don't think I'd find much. "So my next bet would be to find out where the actual wreck is and go from there."

"In that case, your best bet would be to go northwest to the next town. You'll be hard pressed to find someone who didn't see the wreck from there. The town is right on the cliff, and is friendly to humans and monsters."

"Meaning they know how to restrain themselves?"

"Yes," the huntress sighed, "why do you think I still have a job?"

Cameron chuckled lightly before turning to leave. "Thanks again for everything. If you hear anything about the survivors or see something fishy, come get me."

Rosalina nodded and turned to the maids. "Alright ladies, you know what to do."

Cameron tilted his head curiously before the shoggoth maids curtsied to him.

"Thank you for visiting! We hope to see you again, Sir Cameron!"

The boy smiled and bowed back and started walk down the trail.

"Boy!"

He stopped and turned, only to panic as he nearly dropped the box that was flung at him from the window of the mansion's second story. He looked at the culprit, only for Mirina to give him a glare and a prideful smirk. "Use him well. I trust you to improve where I could not. But make no mistake; the next time we duel, I will emerge victorious!"

He smiled and gave a thumbs up. Continuing his walk, he knew whatever lied ahead, he could count on the cards he had.

* * *

There was no way to describe the fear and anger she felt since the crash. Being pulled from the wreckage by something straight out of a horror movie was enough to scare her, but seeing the sheer amount of those beings made her question her sanity. The woman in the shadows did not help matters at all. Just being in the cave gave a sense of WRONG that wouldn't go away until she was eventually grabbed by a noble looking spectral girl.

When the ghost dragged her out of the cave, she was more surprised at how it was able to solidify its arms to grab her. But when they flew over a clearing, she started to flail violently until the monster girl dropped her over a pond. Feeling it was beyond her, the black and blue specter just flew off before she surfaced and swam to the shore.

"At least she left me alone now," she muttered, "but where am I?" Not wanting to die of hypothermia, the girl was forced to wring out her clothes and try to make a fire to warm up and dry off. She was happy that she at least had her flint and knife on her when she woke up, but she knew it wouldn't last long.

Gathering rocks to make a fire ring took some effort, but kept her active enough that she wouldn't shiver. Getting the sticks and twigs from the ground was a simple matter. Arranging them in a teepee over the pile of flint made it easy to ignite. Once she had her fire, she stripped off her shirt and hung it on a nearby branch, doing the same with her jeans.

While she waited, she used some of the longer branches she found to make a leaning shelter against a nearby fallen tree trunk. By that time, the sun was setting, and she was getting tired. _Just a short nap...won't hurt...anything…_

…

…

"Why is there clothes by this hot pile? Heehee!"

She was awoken by a small, high pitched giggling close by. While far from comfortable, the girl's improvised shelter served its purpose of keeping her hidden from predators and (mostly) keeping her warm. It had been a few hours since she escaped the Phantom, and the sky had turned dark. Her small fire had become a pile of hot coals that barely gave off any light.

She poked her head out of her shelter and looked around, trying to see where the giggle came from. The sound of cloth hitting the ground made her duck back in, just barely peeking out to see what happened. Her clothes that used to hang on the branch were now on the ground. Immediately, she reached for her knife, thinking there was a hostile animal nearby. A lump formed underneath the shirt, moving around like looking for an exit.

"Do you think these are undies? Like for armor?" another childish voice asked from the lump. She gasped silently, wondering what could possibly be small enough to move under her clothes like a kitten while still sounding that childish.

"Nah," the other voice replied. "I think these are meant to be regular clothes, like the human peasants wear. The bottoms are tougher than most of those under armor pants."

Finally finding the edge, a small blue haired girl poked her head out from under the shirt. "Do you think these belong to someone?"

Another little girl dropped from the tree branch her clothes used to hang, her bright green butterfly wings complimenting her messy, pink ponytail and dress. "I think so. They smell human."

The blue haired girl crawled out from under the shirt, revealing a pair of purple butterfly wings and a cyan dress. "Does that mean the human is close by here?"

The pink one shrugged. "Maybe. Do you think big sis will be mad if we took these?"

"I think this human would be," a third girl called from behind, startling the lone human. Turning, she saw another small, winged girl; this one with a white dress, yellow pigtails and yellow wings.

The two kids turned and darted for her shelter, looking at the now terrified human girl with wide curious eyes. Her eyes darted between the three little girls as if unsure of whether they would attack. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, thinking these little monsters were somehow involved with the Armored Shadow and her band of somehow sexy eldritch abominations. The knife slipped from her hands as one of the kids floated closer, causing her to curl into a ball on instinct and wait.

…

…

…

"Are you okay, lady?" the small girl asked, gently placing a hand on the human's arm. Hesitantly, she looked at the smaller girl's face, finding nothing but curiosity and a hint of fear. The other two had similar looks on their faces.

"Who...are you? Wha-What are you?" the girl asked shakily.

The three children looked at each other, grinning before introducing themselves.

"I'm Alstra!" the pink girl cheered.

"I'm Iris!" the purple and blue girl responded.

"And I'm Lily!" the white and yellow girl finished.

"And we're fairies!" they sang, flying around the girl's head. "What's your name?"

The human girl couldn't help the small smile that came to her. "My name is Kathy. It's nice to meet you."

Alstra flew down, landing softly on Kathy's knee. "Why were your clothes outside by that hot pile of rocks?"

"I was trying to dry them off after I took an unexpected dip in that pond over there," Kathy replied, gesturing to said body of water.

"Why were you in the water?" Iris inquired.

Kathy's face grew grim, but she kept her speech simple enough for the kids. "I was escaping from a bad lady. She made my boat crash and took away all the grownups. Me and a bunch of other people all got taken into a cave by these icky looking monsters that I'm pretty sure were zombies. After separating the women and men, the bad lady made her ghosts take us kids and spread us around the island."

"Ghosts?!" the three fairies screamed.

"But that's not right!" Iris objected. "Ghosts can't feel anything physical until they possess someone!"

Kathy tilted her head in confusion. "But this one was able to carry me all the way out here before I struggled hard enough to make her let me go."

Lily's expression seemed like a lightbulb lit up in her mind. "Was this one completely white or black and blue?"

Kathy looked up in thought before answering. "I think she was black and pale blue."

"That wasn't just a ghost. That was a Phantom!" The other fairies gasped, while Kathy just squinted in confusion.

"What's the difference?"

"Phantoms are much stronger than Ghosts," Alstra explained. "They're the kind that are super important compared to others like them. Not only can they possess people like nobody's business, but they can also touch things in like anyone else can!"

"What do you mean, 'super important'?"

Alstra paused for a moment. "It's like what humans refer to big sis Tanya...I think it was...noblivity?"

Kathy's face recognized the word the fairy tried to say. "I think you mean nobility."

"Yeah, that's it!"

An idea sprung in the human's mind. "Could your big sis help me find the others? Like my brother?"

"You have a brother?" Lily questioned.

Kathy nodded. "Yeah. His name is Cameron. I know he's around here somewhere. One of the zombie things told the bad lady that because his scent was on me, it means he's still alive."

The fairies looked at each other and nodded. "Big sis Tanya is always willing to help us when we need it," Alstra concluded, "so she should be able to help find your big brother!"

"Really?"

"Yep! Let's go talk to her now!"

The pink haired fairy picked up Kathy's finger and pulled her out of her shelter.

"Wait, I still need to put my clothes back on!"

* * *

 **A/N: Shorter than I'd like, but at least I got it. Out of all the scenes I had to write for this chapter, the end of the duel was the hardest. While I'm not completely satisfied with it, I feel like it keeps everything from being too boring.**

 **With this, Cameron's sister is introduced to her own adventures, and Cameron's first commander duel is over. In future duels, however, it's unlikely that I'll use any other format outside EDH/Commander. There will be others, but they will be few and far between.**

 **Anyways, Review, Follow, Favorite, and I'll see you all next time.**


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